Construction projects present major complications to the ability to accurately assess time, progress, and quality at all stages and tasks of a project. This phenomenon is partially due to the inherent nature of construction to permanently cover earlier work. Critical elements are continually covered and increasingly inaccessible after the fact. If the work relating to a particular task is not assessed at the right moment in time, it may become impossible to assess. Furthermore, the pace and multi-disciplined subcontracting approach of modern construction leads to numerous simultaneous tasks, which makes tracking each task at the correct time all the more challenging.
The difficulty in determining the conditions and exact time frames in which each task is completed, especially in a large construction project, is an industry wide challenge. These determinations are important in defining payment schedules, code compliance, legal claims legitimacy, quality control, and maintenance procedures. Better determinations can lead to early corrections of design issues, fewer misunderstandings, better compliance with codes, cost containment, and the like.
The industry has evolved numerous ways to track and control information surrounding construction. Such information may include condition and progress information, for example, what dates and times particular activities or tasks have been performed; who has performed them; whether they have been performed as specified by the construction documents, for example, using specified materials, techniques, etc.; what adjustments have been made that diverge from the plans; whether the activity or task is complete, or the portion completed; etc. Traditionally, these tracking methods center around written paper reports that are discipline specific received from sub-contractors, which are manually compiled by the general contractor (or other personnel in charge) and then submitted to the owner. Often owners engage their own representative to observe and report on the condition and progress of a project as it is progressing. Current commercially available construction management software endeavors to track and combine many different types of traditional paper documents into one system. However, there is no mechanism for insuring who's view of the world is correct.